


Say what now?

by zakari_little_lion



Category: Astrid et Raphaëlle (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24717316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zakari_little_lion/pseuds/zakari_little_lion
Summary: After a tiring work day, Raphaëlle is happy with just enjoying a quiet evening in with Astrid.
Relationships: Astrid Nielsen/Raphaëlle Coste
Comments: 11
Kudos: 67





	Say what now?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again Elmup for proof-reading this

"I am so fucking tired," the Commander let out an exasperated yet appeased sigh as she entered the bedroom, fresh out of a well-deserved shower after a particularly long work day.

Astrid was already lying under the sheets, a book in between her hands. Her hair was finally out of its usual ponytail and the brunette was still waiting for the day her breath wouldn't get slightly caught in the back of her throat at this sight.

"You do look tired. The rings under your eyes are more prominent than usual," Astrid confirmed as she glanced up from her book to see her face.

"Mmh-mmh," she replied nonchalantly. "And my muscles are sore all over. Thank God for warm water."

She gracelessly crawled onto the bed and let herself fall down, embedding her face right into the pillowcase in front of her. Only when air became an issue, did she turn on her side toward her girlfriend and a tiny grunt escaped her when she flexed her muscles, the action taking all of her remaining energy out of her. She slid under the sheets and got herself comfortable before allowing her eyes to wander to Astrid.

Her eyes were following the written words with great focus, everything Astrid ever did was with great focus. Her index finger was absentmindedly banging an unknown rhythm on the book edge and her toes were wiggling as stim. She looked so… serene. Raphaëlle couldn't hold back the smile that overtook half of her face or the way her heart swooned inside her chest, spreading love all over her body.

If a few months ago, someone had told her that Astrid would be as comfortable in Raphaëlle's space as she was in her own flat, the Commander would have laughed right in their face. Yet, here they were. A little over six months into dating and many, many sleepovers later - Astrid could probably tell the exact number of time though - the documentalist was _at ease_. In Raphaëlle's bed. In Raphaëlle's home.

Sure, it had taken them time to get to this point. Lots of trials and errors and hours of communication had gone into it and, yes, there was some progress margin they still needed to complete for Astrid to feel totally at home, but they were getting there. One day at a time. One thing at a time.

Astrid's schedule was now adorning her fridge next to Théo's, the living room carpet had been changed since the blonde didn't like the way the old one felt under her feet, the place was tidier than it had ever been, they had switched some light bulbs to warmer color temperature ones… And each step, no matter how small it was, the brunette could tell it greatly impacted Astrid's comfort and happiness. And nothing mattered as much as her girlfriend's happiness, except her son's of course.

Raphaëlle saw that the blonde had finished reading her chapter so she seized the opportunity to burst in.

"Can I?"she asked and she motioned to the blonde with her chin.

Astrid frowned and lowered her book to her knees as she glanced over. "Can you what, Raphaëlle?"

"Cuddle. With you. Pretty please?"

"Ah."

The documentalist glanced at the other woman again and smiled shyly. The fact that she was still asking before initiating physical contact with her, waiting for consent, even after all this time always made her stomach flutter. She had never had a neurotypical partner this patient with her and this sensitive to her needs. It was especially admirable because Astrid knew how hard self-restrain was for the Commander. There were still a few unplanned hugs and hand-holdings every once in a while but Raphaëlle and Théo had gotten really good at asking-before-acting with time.

"Yes, you can," Astrid agreed with a grin and she lifted up the sheets to invite the other woman closer.

Her body grew tensed instinctively for a few moments, over-stimulated by all the physical contact even though she had been expected it.

Raphaëlle's head found its usual place in the crook of Astrid's neck and her arm rested protectively onto her waist. The faint smell of berries - a remnant of Raphaëlle's shampoo - tickled the blonde's nostrils and her deep, soft breaths caressed her neck with each expiration. Raphaëlle's weight on top of her was soothing her better than any weighted comforter in the world ever would and her body relaxed, melting back into the mattress.

"This okay?" the Commander mumbled in her neck once she had settled against her.

"Yes," she answered truthfully.

The blonde looked down at the other woman. The skin of her cheek felt soft and warm against the small part of her collarbone that wasn't covered by her pajama top. While she did look exhausted, she also looked absolutely mesmerizing. So mesmerizing that Astrid surprised herself looking at her for quite a long while. A brunette lock fell down in front of her face and Astrid's finger rushed over to gently push it away. She cautiously yet skillfully placed a hand on her back and stroke it in what she hoped was a tender way. Astrid could tell the other woman wasn't exactly asleep but she was well on her way there.

It was thirty six past ten, meaning she had time for one last chapter, maybe even two, before turning the lights off so she grabbed her book back up with her unoccupied hand.

"This feels good. Scratch that, you make it feel good, angel," Raphaëlle whispered sleepily after a while.

Angel. The documentalist was glad they were in bed and that her girlfriend had her eyes shut because she lost grip of her book, her eyes almost popped out of her head in surprise and her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Neurotypicals and their habit of unprompted statements. Her stomach fluttered again and she let out a noncommittal sound in joyfulness.

"What's wrong?"Raphaëlle asked barely five seconds later with frowned eyebrows and her eyes still shut.

She sounded concerned and definitely more awake.

"Why would anything be wrong?"

"You stopped rubbing my back and your toes are wiggling a mile a minute. Which they only do when you're feeling overwhelmed."

"Feeling overwhelmed," she stressed the last syllable. "Yes. Overwhelmed. I am not overwhelmed. Your spontaneity surprised me and I felt an abrupt rush of strong feelings but not to the point of being overwhelmed. But do not worry Raphaëlle, they are good and agreeable strong feelings."

The brunette softly squeezed her hip and her lips turned into a lopsided smile. She felt Astrid's skin shiver against her lips and her smile grew even wider. Raphaëlle had learned early on in their relationship that Astrid and smooth love language did not, in fact, co-exist on the same meta-physical plan and they never would.

But what Raphaëlle had also learned was that she didn't want smooth love language, what she truly wanted was to understand Astrid's concept of love so she could identify how the other woman expressed it. And "good and agreeable strong feelings"? It was Astrid's way of describing her adoration for her. It may be quirky, but Raphaëlle wouldn't have it any other way.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"I do not. It is over something silly."

"Come on, you know I'm always down for some silliness. Especially when you're involved. Share with me?"

"I was bewildered by the pet name. Angel. I like it," Astrid could feel her cheeks getting hot.

"I didn't peg you as a pet name kind of girl, Astrid," Raphaëlle teased playfully. "Good to know that you like it. I'mma start using it more often then," the Commander dropped a kiss onto her collarbone before nuzzling back into her neck.

"Good to know. Good to know," she echolalia-ed. Suddenly, a new thought barreled through her mind, "Would you like me to reciprocate?"

That earned her a chuckle from the brunette, and the blonde didn't understand why. The mere thought of idea of Astrid calling Raphaëlle baby or sweetheart or whatever-else cutesy nickname was so just out of character. She poked an eye open and looked up at the documentalist's face.

"You can if you want to but you don't have to. I love the fact that you call me by my name. You never shorten it."

"Raphaëlle comes from the Hebrew _Rafa_ , which means to heal and _El_ , which means God. Rafa-El. God heals. It is a very powerful name and you are one of the most powerful people I know. And as such, it does not make sense to me to shorten it."

The good and agreeable strong feelings Astrid had mentioned mere moments earlier hit the Commander like a ton of bricks. Was Astrid trying to make her heart explode? She was already in love with the woman for God's sake, she didn't have to go this hard. She squealed, the Commander actually squealed, and then happy-laughed. Those weren't butterflies she could feel in her stomach, those were big mutant bugs and, while she knew it wasn't possible, she would swear she could feel bliss igniting from deep within her bones.

The loud squeal and laughter scared Astrid and she jumped so Raphaëlle stopped right away. For a moment she considered getting up and opening the windows to scream for all Paris to hear that Astrid Nielsen was the most loving girlfriend to ever exist. At least, it would get most of her excitement out. Instead, she resorted to internally screaming and to smile like a mad woman.

The brunette leaned back and lifted herself up a little from Astrid so they were face to face. She slowly and delicately guided the documentalist's chin up, letting her plenty of time to get away from the upcoming eye to eye contact if she wanted to. She did not and eventually, dark chocolate eyes met olive and copper ones. Her other hand tenderly strolled up to Astrid's cheek, her thumb slowly stroking it. The blonde leaned into the touch and Raphaëlle looked at her with amazement on her features. True, Astrid was tactile sensitive but when it was in the safety of Raphaëlle's home, just the two of them, her touch all slow and sweet and feather-like, the brunette giving her ample time to stop, and her eyes were filled with nothing but care and tenderness, the blonde found out she didn't mind affectionately touching every once in a while. Sometimes, she even enjoyed it. Just like she was right now.

"Astrid, please, promise me you'll never change."

"Ah," the blonde frowned, obviously confused. "I cannot promise you that as I do not understand what you are implying. What should I not change?"

"I-Just… Never mind. You're perfect."

Astrid finally looked elsewhere, not able to maintain the eye contact anymore but she leaned a little further into the warm hand caressing her cheek. "I am not perfect. In fact, I can give you multiple examples that would indicate the contrary. Would you-"

"Astrid?"

"Like me to enumera-"

"Astrid?"Raphaëlle said a little louder to stop her girlfriend from rambling.

"I am not finished."

"I know you are not finished. I just wanted to explain myself a little better. You may not be perfect, but you are perfect to me."

Astrid blushed deeply and she was sure the Commander could feel the heat against her palm. She felt her blood pressure rise, her heart pounded and her ears whooshed as blood hastily rushed by her eardrums. She kept stealing glances at Raphaëlle, torn between love and distress. This time, she was definitively feeling overwhelmed and not matter how fast she was wiggling her toes or moving her fingers or rocking back and forth, it was still too much.

She needed something to ground her. And fast. Intuitively, she knew exactly what she needed to help her calm down and the answer was sitting right in front of her very eyes: Raphaëlle.

Her hands meticulously cupped the brunette's face and carefully tugged her closer until she could feel her breath tingle her face. The brunette would not dare make the last move, too worried that it wasn't what Astrid wanted and that it would only worsen the situation. So Astrid took the lead and leaned in until their lips were brushing against one another. On reflex, her eyes closed and she focused onto the familiar physical feeling.

She wouldn't be able to tell whom put more pressure into the kiss, probably the both of them. All the blonde knew was that her girlfriend's lips felt soft and silky against hers. Thumbs were stroking both of her cheeks now, the touch light yet robust. Her thigh was pressing against her own and even though their pajamas, Astrid could feel the warmth emanating from her. Her insides twisted in the most pleasant of ways and shivers ran all over her body. Her toes wiggled, not in anxiety this time but in happiness.

The overwhelming feelings boiling inside of her were slowly but surely floating farther away with each passing moment in Raphaëlle's care. Out of breath, the blonde sighed into the kiss and pulled away. She rested her forehead against Raphaëlle's, not quite ready to let her go just yet. Not until the feelings were safely tucked away for sure.

"You're feeling better?" Raphaëlle whisper-asked, anxiety tainting her voice but she was sporting an encouraging smile.

"A lot. Thank you, Raphaëlle."

"You don't have to thank me, angel. I like kissing you and more importantly, I like helping you," the Commander reminded her.

"Ah."

"Permission to kiss your cheek?"

"Yes."

The Commander lost her hold onto her face before dropping a kiss right by Astrid's mole, a spot she had the tendency to favor the blonde had noticed over the last few months.

"Maybe that's enough emotions for today. How about we go to sleep? It's close to eleven PM anyway."

"Eleven PM," she looked the alarm sitting onto the nightstand. "I did not finish my chapter. We still have three minutes and I only have one page left."

"Okay then."

Raphaëlle lied back to her side of the bed and mindlessly scrolled away on her phone until Astrid was ready for them to turn the lights off. From the corner of her eye, she could see her girlfriend reading attentively, a finger hitting a rhythm onto the book cover and the sheets were moving by Astrid's feet, which meant wiggling. She couldn't help but grin at Astrid's laidback attitude and her heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, by eleven PM, the room was dark, save for the bright blue numbers displayed by the alarm o'clock. While they didn't snuggle to sleep, Astrid had explained to her it was too much for too long, they usually slept facing one another. Every night, Raphaëlle's hand would stroll to rest into the empty space separating their bodies and, more often than not, the blonde would give it a gentle squeeze and delicately kiss the back of it before truly shutting her eyes for the night.

"Astrid?"

"Yes?"

"What does Astrid means?"Raphaëlle asked out of curiosity.

"Astrid is from Scandinavian origin, Ássfriðr. _Áss_ means deity and _friðr_ means beautiful. Áss-friðr. It means divinely beautiful."

That got the brunette's attention.

"So, like an angel?"

"Ah! I understand what you are doing there, Raphaëlle. You are pointing out the similarities between the meaning of my name and your chosen affectionate nickname for me, is that it?"

Raphaëlle grinned at the pride in Astrid's voice. "It's exactly what I'm doing. And I chose great. Sleep tight, Astrid."

Fingers felt around until they stumbled onto her girlfriend's hand and Astrid carefully kissed it.

"Good night, Raphaëlle."


End file.
